The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love (1967)

“If I had to pick one drummer, Mitch Mitchell might be my biggest influence. I was pretty young and was taking lessons with a big band jazz drummer, Howie Mann, who exposed me to another world that was quite different from rock ‘n’ roll. When I heard Mitch Mitchell, however, I could tell right away that he was a jazz player. What he brought to the music that Jimi Hendrix wrote was very unique and unheard of at the time.

“There seems to be a lack of calculation to the playing – everybody is in the moment, doing what they feel – and I chalk that up to the jazz approach as well. Everybody in the band had that spirit, but you can really hear it in Mitch’s playing.

“What truly defined Mitch Mitchell were songs like Up From The Skies, where he played brushes – nobody had played brushes in a rock setting before – and Little Wing, which has two of the most classic drum fills of all time. Little Miss Lover and If 6 Was 9 are amazing examples of signature drum beats. And it’s all on one record! That’s pretty incredible.”